Tagged: Stress Anxiety

Jan 26

Arm Yourself With Info About Alternative Herbal Medicine



Alternative herbal medicine is one of the best ways to cure chronic or other disease, in many cases. The major benefit of herbal medicines is that it is 100% natural and does not have any side effects, if taken according to the advice of a competent doctor. Look for and use organic herbs when ever possible.

Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA) is the wonder medicine made from primrose, borage or currant seed oil that is extremely effective for treatment of alcohol addicts. Alcohol intake in huge amounts has the chances of slowing down your brain cells. This particular effect of alcohol can be checked by Valerian herb. Another effectual herbal medicine for people suffering from emotional or physical stress is Skullcap.

The alternative herbal remedies for stress, anxiety or depression are St. John’s wort, ashwagandha, valerian and hops ginseng, and Motherwort.

If one is suffering from any degree of sleeplessness, the most helpful herbal medicines are lemon balm, linden, chamomile and ginger tea. For quick relief from common ailments like the odd headache, you can go for eucalyptus or peppermint oil and lavender while for rapid pain relief or inflammation, one can take meadowsweet or willow bark instead of chemical painkillers.

Salicylic acid, the chief component of the pain – killer aspirin, is found in its salicin form in willow bark and meadowsweet. The salicin is reacted upon in the stomach and transformed to salicylic acid, which grants you instant relief from pain. Ginger, which reduces the prostaglandin levels in the body, is another useful pain reliever.

Thanks to the hectic modern style of present day living, most of us suffer from stress in different forms. Herbal medicine is a great way to counter this. Ginseng and Siberian ginseng are two of the most potent stress relievers. Herbal medicines like gingko biloba, ginseng, Siberian ginseng and gotu kola are also successful in curing partial memory loss. Hawthorn, ginseng, motherwort, valerian and pineapple are the wonder herbs that help in curing angina or irregular heartbeat.

Most herbal medicines are prepared from the major herbal ingredient along with other contents. At present, almost 80% of all the medicines have some herbal ingredients.

Although herbal medicines have been extremely successful in treating many diseases, prescription drugs still hold the fort when it comes to treating critical diseases. Thus, one should not consider alternative herbal medicine to be a competitor of prescription drugs, but as a new and effective form of medicine that works in tandem with prescription drugs to treat certain illnesses.

Another benefit of herbal medicines is that it is accessible to most everyone. Herbal treatment is not at all expensive and the herbs can even be grown in your backyard! In fact, prescription drugs are much more expensive and associated with a greater amount of risk.

Alternative medicine is cheap, effective and most importantly, natural and free from any side effects.

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Posted in Medicine

Aug 01

Are High Blood Pressure and Anxiety Disorders Linked?



There seems to be a common belief that high blood pressure is related to emotional factors such as stress and anxiety that a person feels. However, this is often not the cause of elevated blood pressure in most people. Whilst there does seem to be a link between high blood pressure and anxiety there are many other factors that can impact on a persons blood pressure levels.

There are considered to be two categories of hypertension (high blood pressure), they are essential or primary, and secondary high blood pressure. Secondary, as the name suggests is hypertension that is caused by a recognizable medical condition like kidney disease.

Essential (or primary) hypertension is usually only diagnosed once investigation has determined there is no medical condition present that could trigger the elevated blood pressure levels.

There are considered to be a number of risk factors associated with hypertension, and they include some factors that cannot be changed including:

- How old a person is.

- A person’s race, African Americans have greater risk of elevated blood pressure than Caucasians.

- If there is a family history of hypertension.

There are also other risks that have been identified, including:

- Being overweight or obese

- Being Diabetic

- Eating a diet high in salt or a saturated fat

- Inactivity and / or poor fitness levels
- Alcohol abuse and alcoholism

- High levels of stress and anxiety

Continue reading to discover how you can sign up for the free Relieving High Blood Pressure newsletter, full of good advice about methods to lower blood pressure.

Stress and anxiety can trigger our fight or flight response. This is the response that allowed our ancestors to run from danger or heighten their reactions to fight wild animals.

Not much has changed, and when faced with stressful situation or one that makes us anxious we secrete epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol. And it is these hormones that increase blood pressure by increasing the speed the heart beats and constricting the blood vessels

So, it is believed that anxiety can raise the blood pressure levels in short spikes, but that they will then return to normal. However, there can be problems with people who have anxiety disorders or depression, as if these spikes happen to often (due to an over reactive nervous system potentially) then damage can occur in the same way as hypertension that is caused by other risk factors.

So, the risk of damaged blood vessels, kidney and heart problems increase over time if the person continues to be faced with conditions, which elevate their blood pressure.

Also, people who suffer with depression or a General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) may turn to certain crutches to help them cope with a stressful situation. Including eating excessively, or choosing the wrong foods, smoking, or drinking too much alcohol, which can of course increase the risk of higher blood pressure and heart problems.

Many people have witnessed the effect of anxiety or stress, when ‘White Coat’ Hypertension effects them. Elevated blood pressure can occur when a patient is visiting their doctor and their blood pressure when read is consistently higher than when they have taken a reading in a non-stressful environment. In fact in studies carried out it has been suggested that as many as 10-20% of all patients will experience ‘White Coat’ Hypertension.

So, it seems clear that a connection can be made between a person suffering from high blood pressure and anxiety. However, anxiety is usually not the main factor causing the elevated high blood pressure, it just contributes to it.

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Posted in Blood Tension

Dec 18

Does Anxiety Cause High Blood Pressure?



Does anxiety cause high blood pressure? Nobody has ever been able to give one specific cause for blood pressure readings that are consistently too high. Scientists do, however, agree that high anxiety and stress most certainly do not LOWER blood pressure, and repeated and prolonged periods of stress and anxiety can contribute to the development of high blood pressure, or hypertension.

When we become anxious or stressed, our blood pressure rises during that period. Our bodies produce vasoconstricting hormones that increase blood pressure. Once the situation is resolved that caused the anxiety or the stress, blood pressure returns to normal. If the anxiety or stress lasts long enough or happens often enough, most people will develop high blood pressure, or hypertension.

As humans, we become anxious about many different things. Our jobs can cause anxiety, as can our relationships. Learning to control our anxiety levels even in stressful situations can help us to avoid high blood pressure and the risks that go with it. Nobody says that anxiety control is a simple matter.

There are medications that are designed to calm us that a doctor can prescribe. There are also herbs that are known to provide relief from anxiety that a herbalist can recommend. The practice of yoga or meditation exercises might, also, help to relieve anxiety.

The relief of anxiety doesn’t come with a one-size-fits-all fix. I wish it did, but it doesn’t. Each person must find that way to control their anxiety and their stress themselves, and what will work for one person, won’t necessarily work for another.

Anxiety may not directly cause hypertension, but it can lead to repeated blood pressure elevations, which eventually may lead to hypertension. The best advice is to reduce the anxiety-causing situations in your life and to actively seek a way to reduce the anxiety that your feel.

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Posted in Blood Tension